4 straight games that we've played poorly

[msstate7]

Vandy needs to be treated like an egg bowl rehearsal. I don't wanna see the 1b crap until vandy has been left for dead

[ShotgunDawg]

Vandy needs to be treated like an egg bowl rehearsal. I don't wanna see the 1b crap until vandy has been left for dead

This is my big concern as well. We know what this team is capable of, but the fact is that they haven't played well in over a month. I thought we were due to play well yesterday, but we didn't. We must get back to playing well if we are going to have a chance.

[GTHOM]

I never bought into the ''we were looking ahead to alabama'' deal. Its hard to get back to that level once you've left it. But a tough loss may be the thing to do it. We have the talent and leadership on this team to win out, our season pretty much is the next 2 games now. I think we are better than vandy and ole miss and that we will win both. No way this team lets one loss define our season

[msstate7]

The more I think about it maybe the arkansas game wasn't as bad as I thought. They pitched a shut out over lsu. If they beat om and mizzou, ark will become a quality win

[Maroonthirteen]

The defense isn't the problem. It has been the offense. It looked to me that the UAs keyed on stopping our rushing game. OM will do the same. We need to find a new wrinkle running the ball and something other than back shoulder throws in the passing game. Bottom line for the egg, our OL is going to have to whip their DL.

[MarketingBully01]

The more I think about it maybe the arkansas game wasn't as bad as I thought. They pitched a shut out over lsu. If they beat om and mizzou, ark will become a quality win

Bama only beat Arkansas by one point at Aroansas and that was on a blocked extra point. They are beating Ole Miss at Arkansas. If it was in Oxford, I'd have a different opinion.

[GTHOM]

The defense isn't the problem. It has been the offense. It looked to me that the UAs keyed on stopping our rushing game. OM will do the same. We need to find a new wrinkle running the ball and something other than back shoulder throws in the passing game. Bottom line for the egg, our OL is going to have to whip their DL.

Nailed it. Although there is an obvious difference if you look at the 1B's production on defense compared to the 1A's. But as far as our OL vs their DL you are exactly right. I think we will handle them up front and be able to run the ball. Auburn and LSU did.

[defiantdog]

I thought the team played well against Bama. Mullen had some horrible play calls though. I think all of you fail to realize we played a damn good team at a place where they never lose. We were down 19-0 and made it a damn game. You all suck for being down on this team.

[DudyDawg]

I wouldn't say we necessarily played bad yesterday. We were better in literally every aspect except for some things didn't gonour way in the red zone. It happens. We were the better team saturday although it never felt like it. If our d plays like that against any team, we probably shut them out

[ShotgunDawg]

We need to worry about playing better, and worry less about how the playoffs will shake out. The playoffs will take care of themselves if we win out. All we can control is playing better and winning out.

[msstate7]

I thought the team played well against Bama. Mullen had some horrible play calls though. I think all of you fail to realize we played a damn good team at a place where they never lose. We were down 19-0 and made it a damn game. You all suck for being down on this team.

2 unforced turnovers while creating 0 and the punting = not playing well.

I'm not down on this team. I'm high on them and that's why I expect better

[GTHOM]

We need to worry about playing better, and worry less about how the playoffs will shake out. The playoffs will take care of themselves if we win out. All we can control is playing better and winning out.

I agree, if we handle our business we will be in

[I seen it dawg]

The defense isn't the problem. It has been the offense. It looked to me that the UAs keyed on stopping our rushing game. OM will do the same. We need to find a new wrinkle running the ball and something other than back shoulder throws in the passing game. Bottom line for the egg, our OL is going to have to whip their DL.

Correct. And we stopped our run game not Bama. It was stopped with JRob only having 4 carries.

[maroonmania]

Might as well face it, as stated here we really have been sloppy in our play really ever since TA&M but its gotten worse as in with Auburn, though we did turn the ball over, we were also forcing turnovers. Yesterday, we made ALL the mistakes and forced NONE.

Some of the miscues that killed us include:
- JRob running backward into the endzone for a safety when he could have easily made the 5 or 6 yardline running right up the middle
- 3 INTs by Dak with the first 2 being very bad throws (when will Dak actually put the ball up top to Wilson for a jump ball if he is determined to make that end zone throw?)
- Dak missing a wide open Malcolm Johnson in the endzone by 10 YARDS!
- Malone jumping at the six inch line essentially costing us 4 points
- Shanking or short kicking punts (I'm pretty much done with Bell; he lost his FG kicking job and the punting job is likely not far behind)
- Defense unable to maintain pocket control with Sims on 3rd down OVER and OVER on the most important Bama drive of the day
- Putting Graham one on one with Cooper in the red zone (auto TD)
- Forced no real mistakes on Bama's offense

And to be honest, though the loss yesterday was certainly more on the offense, I'm just disappointed in our D this year. Yes, its great we've performed well in the red zone we just aren't nearly as good as I thought we would be. Teams marching up and down the field or hitting bombs on us gets old. We can't get the ball back half the time when we need it, and did Chris Jones even make a tackle yesterday? Don't remember seeing him making much of an impact. Starting to rethink that maybe he will be a 4 year guy after all. We lost to a very good defensive team yesterday but we made ALL the mistakes in that game and they made virtually none and we still came out with just a 5 point loss. Makes you wonder what could have been if we had just played a clean game.

[ScoobaDawg]

The more I think about it maybe the arkansas game wasn't as bad as I thought. They pitched a shut out over lsu. If they beat om and mizzou, ark will become a quality win

Want to explain to me how Arkansas, a team with 5 losses, becomes a Quality win..in anyones eyes.. they WILL NOT be ranked. and thats what matters.

[msstate7]

Want to explain to me how Arkansas, a team with 5 losses, becomes a Quality win..in anyones eyes.. they WILL NOT be ranked. and thats what matters.

7-5 bowl team that beat 3 ranked teams (lsu, OM, and mizzou) in a row. Also lost to 2 potential playoff teams by 8 combined points

And I'm certainly taking liberty assuming they beat OM and mizzou, but they match up very well with them. Oh and long (ark's ad) is on the committee

[GTHOM]

Want to explain to me how Arkansas, a team with 5 losses, becomes a Quality win..in anyones eyes.. they WILL NOT be ranked. and thats what matters.

They should have beaten bama and a&m, 7-5 record, 2 one possession losses to playoff caliber teams, and beat 3 straight bowl eligible teams to end the season. they will be ranked if they win the next 2

[ScoobaDawg]

7-5 bowl team that beat 3 ranked teams (lsu, OM, and mizzou) in a row. Also lost to 2 potential playoff teams by 8 combined points

They wont be ranked. They are playing well now but its too late. It wont ever be considered as a quality win by anyone in the polls or committee.
It actually would be the WORST thing, its already gonna knock lsu out of the top 25, it would knock the bears down pretty low if not out.

[ScoobaDawg]

They should have beaten bama and a&m, 7-5 record, 2 one possession losses to playoff caliber teams, and beat 3 straight bowl eligible teams to end the season. they will be ranked if they win the next 2

No they wont.. the playoff committee is the poll that matters... and they wont be ranked in it.
Should of, could ofs dont matter.

[CadaverDawg]

I thought the team played well against Bama. Mullen had some horrible play calls though. I think all of you fail to realize we played a damn good team at a place where they never lose. We were down 19-0 and made it a damn game. You all suck for being down on this team.

I seriously wonder if you watched a different game yesterday. First off, nobody is "down on this team". People are disappointed because we lost, but nobody is giving up on the team. Second, How can you say we played well yesterday? Did you see the awful play calls? The poor throws Dak made (especially in the first half)? The drops our receivers had? The decision by JRob on the safety? The awful punting? The awful kick returns?

I mean, seriously....I just listed like 10 things off the top of my head that we did poorly yesterday, yet you want us to just say we played great but Bama played better? That isn't true. If we played even halfway decent on offense in the first half, we win.

[msstate7]

They wont be ranked. They are playing well now but its too late. It wont ever be considered as a quality win by anyone in the polls or committee.
It actually would be the WORST thing, its already gonna knock lsu out of the top 25, it would knock the bears down pretty low if not out.

So when the committee lays out their quality win/quality loss chart, what 23-25 team will have a more impressive resume there?

Quality wins: lsu, OM, mizzou

Quality losses: auburn, aTm, Georgia, bama, state

[GTHOM]

No they wont.. the playoff committee is the poll that matters... and they wont be ranked in it.
Should of, could ofs dont matter.

it will be hard for me to believe if they beat LSU ole miss and mizzou all in a row they will be left out of the committees poll. even if they are left out, if we win out there is no team in the country that will have the resume we have

[msstate7]

Oregon state finished 7-6 and #25 last year in ap

[turkish]

I agree with the OP. The players and coaches seemed way too content at the end of the Auburn game. We've played like a different team ever since. UOM will beat us if it doesn't change.

[MabenMaroon]

I thought the team played well against Bama. Mullen had some horrible play calls though. I think all of you fail to realize we played a damn good team at a place where they never lose. We were down 19-0 and made it a damn game. You all suck for being down on this team.

Have to absolutely agree with this, turn one interception thrown into an incompleted pass or a no gain rush, make one tackle on a third down scramble and we probably win the game.

[GTHOM]

I agree with the OP. The players and coaches seemed way too content at the end of the Auburn game. We've played like a different team ever since. UOM will beat us if it doesn't change.

We will beat ole miss. their o and d lines arent anything like alabamas. we will likely score 30 plus and they will have to match us. with that o line and no treadwell i like our chances. they will be fired up though. we cant play like we did in the first half vs bama

[NCDawg]

We will beat ole miss. their o and d lines arent anything like alabamas. we will likely score 30 plus and they will have to match us. with that o line and no treadwell i like our chances. they will be fired up though. we cant play like we did in the first half vs bama

Alabama's defense whipped our OL yesterday and that's why we had to almost abandon our running game. Ole Miss' defensive line is pretty tough also, probably almost as good as Alabama's. Not sure our OL will be able to block them either.

[GTHOM]

Alabama's defense whipped our OL yesterday and that's why we had to almost abandon our running game. Ole Miss' defensive line is pretty tough also, probably almost as good as Alabama's. Not sure our OL will be able to block them either.

Auburn and LSU's o line beat them up, arkansas will too. Ole Miss's d line is no where near as big or as physical as bamas front was

[Maroonthirteen]

Alabama's defense whipped our OL yesterday and that's why we had to almost abandon our running game. Ole Miss' defensive line is pretty tough also, probably almost as good as Alabama's. Not sure our OL will be able to block them either.

This is what I was alluding to. I agree defiant too. Alot of our problem yesterday on offense, was Alabamas defense and playing them at BDS. However we were ranked #1. I expected some difficulty but not being shutdown...almost. Which worries me for the egg bowl. OMs defense isn't that far off of Alabamas. We will have to block better and find some wrinkle to counter the 8-9 in the box OM will throw at us.

[GTHOM]

This is what I was alluding to. I agree defiant too. Alot of our problem yesterday on offense, was Alabamas defense and playing them at BDS. However we were ranked #1. I expected some difficulty but not being shutdown...almost. Which worries me for the egg bowl. OMs defense isn't that far off of Alabamas. We will have to block better and find some wrinkle to counter the 8-9 in the box OM will throw at us.

I think Jameon Lewis is that wrinkle. Their front is not anywhere close to alabamas we will be more physical than them up front on both sides. We will move the ball and put up some points. I feel pretty confident we will beat them

[Todd4State]

I agree with the OP. The players and coaches seemed way too content at the end of the Auburn game. We've played like a different team ever since. UOM will beat us if it doesn't change.

It's called "we've never been number one before". We're playing too tight and trying to do too much. I think it's on the players more than the coaches because every game since Auburn we've also had glimpses of playing up to our potential as well.

It's just part of the process of becoming a champion. I remember when Alabama went 12-0 in Saban's second year and they thought that they had arrived- and then they got hammered by Florida in the SEC Championship Game and then lost the Sugar Bowl. Even as great as they are- even they had to learn how to do it.

[Todd4State]

This is what I was alluding to. I agree defiant too. Alot of our problem yesterday on offense, was Alabamas defense and playing them at BDS. However we were ranked #1. I expected some difficulty but not being shutdown...almost. Which worries me for the egg bowl. OMs defense isn't that far off of Alabamas. We will have to block better and find some wrinkle to counter the 8-9 in the box OM will throw at us.

Alabama runs a 3-4 and I think we struggle with those more than we do 4-3 defenses.

[Oxfordawg]

People compare OM defensive line to Bama are not looking at this right. Bama stopped our run by playing gap integrity with there front. They are big enough to do this. OM however is small and fast. They twist and stunt to get pressure which is also where a bad guess can lead to big plays. Also a running QB like Dak can expose a front that cannot maintain that gap integrity, which is why he gashed them in the EB last year, and also why LSU and Auburn rushed with ease. OM can't man up on the front 7 like Bama there defense has as much finesse an misdirection as there offense does. We just can't let the OM secondary have a career day, but I figure after Dak and JRob get going those safeties will have to creep up then play action begins to work in a big way. They just don't have the personal to scheme how Bama does heck I'm pretty sure nobody in the country has the defensive players to play us the way Bama did.

[GTHOM]

People compare OM defensive line to Bama are not looking at this right. Bama stopped our run by playing gap integrity with there front. They are big enough to do this. OM however is small and fast. They twist and stunt to get pressure which is also where a bad guess can lead to big plays. Also a running QB like Dak can expose a front that cannot maintain that gap integrity, which is why he gashed them in the EB last year, and also why LSU and Auburn rushed with ease. OM can't man up on the front 7 like Bama there defense has as much finesse an misdirection as there offense does. We just can't let the OM secondary have a career day, but I figure after Dak and JRob get going those safeties will have to creep up then play action begins to work in a big way. They just don't have the personal to scheme how Bama does heck I'm pretty sure nobody in the country has the defensive players to play us the way Bama did.

Exactly

[Coach007]

Vandy needs to be treated like an egg bowl rehearsal. I don't wanna see the 1b crap until vandy has been left for dead

And it had not one thing to do with the 1b group. It had to do with always playing ahead and not being really tested. We have been just going through the motions.

We got a wake up call at Bama. The 1bs did their jobs. 335 yards allowed by the defense and 76 on the last bama drive was on the 1A group.

[IMissJack]

Take out the turnovers and punting woes, and we win. That is not playing badly against Bama at their place. The first quarter field position kind of limited the offense Mullen could run.

[Coach007]

It did. That and they came out to stop the run, which they did, and to make us pass... and we could not. To be the best, we have to play our best for 60 minutes.

We will get another shot at bama. And I don't think it will be a close game at all.

[GTHOM]

I think bama was just better than us yesterday, we didnt play our coach our best. There were times when we spread them out and Dak looked great throwing the ball but at the same time he made some critical mistakes and he will be the first to admit that. Mullen didnt coach his best he admitted that, all that negative and we still only got beat by 5 on a bad day for us. We will get another shot of them i agree and i think we are still a better overall team than them. We should handle our business these last 2 and let the chips fall where they may. I expect us to win both games convincingly

[Coach007]

I think bama was just better than us yesterday, we didnt play our coach our best. There were times when we spread them out and Dak looked great throwing the ball but at the same time he made some critical mistakes and he will be the first to admit that. Mullen didnt coach his best he admitted that, all that negative and we still only got beat by 5 on a bad day for us. We will get another shot of them i agree and i think we are still a better overall team than them. We should handle our business these last 2 and let the chips fall where they may. I expect us to win both games convincingly

I really think we beat ourselves. I don't think we are in trouble as a team. I think if anything, we got the wake up call we needed and will play lights out from here on out.

[GTHOM]

I really think we beat ourselves. I don't think we are in trouble as a team. I think if anything, we got the wake up call we needed and will play lights out from here on out.

I agree. They seem pretty pissed off after the loss and they should be. I cant wait to see what they do to vandy next saturday and tsun in 13 days. i like our chances in both games a lot

[Coach007]

I think Ark will beat Ole Miss, and MSU will beat them by a massive amount.

If we don't have a killer instinct for Vandy, I will be shocked!